A Black Rose
by LeeLee Lollipop
Summary: Merlin and Morgana meet again on the battlefield, this time for a battle of emotions. Will Arthur accept what he finds out? Or will Merlin join Morgana in exile from Camelot?
1. Chapter 1

Arthur lay helpless in the mud, Excalibur had been wrenched from his hand and thrown mere inches from his grasp. As a cloaked figure advanced on him, holding a sharp dagger, the King felt his heartbeat quicken.

"If this is my end, give me the honour of knowing the name of the one who takes my life." Arthur tried to keep his voice strong, but it cracked on the word 'end'.

The figure gave a derisive chuckle. "Don't you recognise your older sister, Arthur? I must admit, it has been some time since we've seen each other."

"Morgana," he growled as she lowered her hood. The years had _not_ been kind. What was once a beautiful face that many court women would have killed for, was now a deathly pale mask with bruises marring her cheeks. He don't know what possessed him to bait her, but he couldn't stop the words flowing from his mouth.

"You look like hell, Morgana. I'd get some new makeup if I were you. You don't look too good."

Morgana scoffed. "Oh please, Arthur. I really don't think you're in any position to make jokes. Any last goodbyes, little brother? You might want to say them now, while you still have the breath."

Arthur's eyes widened as Morgana raised the dagger. The silver blade glinted cruelly in the moonlight, and Arthur knew it would cut through his armour like butter.

"Put the knife down, Morgana."

Morgana whirled round towards the voice, and Arthur raised his head to see Merlin stood at the edge of the clearing, covered in blood and a little paler than usual, but standing there all the same.

"Or what, Merlin? What exactly will you do? While I have your precious Arthur at my mercy," Morgana waved a hand airily at Arthur, who froze in the act of getting slowly to his feet.

Merlin gave a slight grin. "Really, Morgana? After all this time, you still underestimate me?"

"What are you talking about?" she frowned.

Merlin took a step forward into the light of the clearing and Arthur winced. Merlin looked as though he'd been brought back from the dead. "Don't try my patience, Morgana. I'm tired of your games and I plan to put an end to them, any way I can, even if it means your death."

Giving a derisive laugh, Morgana turned away from Arthur. "You don't have the power to kill me, Merlin. Only one man is foretold to be my doom, and he's not here."

Merlin laughed. It was a cold, harsh laugh that Arthur immediately decided he never wanted Merlin to utter again. "Morgana, please. Does it not strike you as odd that Arthur has managed to unite Albion without the help of the mighty Emrys? Doesn't it strike you as odd that Emrys isn't helping Arthur fight your army? Doesn't it strike you as odd that Emrys hasn't stopped you while you have Arthur at your mercy? Unless, " Merlin held up a finger, stopping her interruption. "Unless Emrys was always at Arthur's side, advising him which kingdoms to fight and which to offer peace. Unless he's been fighting you since you first turned on Camelot. Unless he's stood in front of you, telling you to leave."

"No." Morgana was shaking her head in denial. "You can't be Emrys, Emrys is an old man. You are _not_ him!"

Again Merlin laughed. Arthur had no clue what the two were talking about, so he stayed silent. Merlin began to walk slowly towards them.

"A simple ageing spell, Morgana. I would have thought that you'd have realised that by now."

Arthur's jaw dropped. An ageing spell? But that must mean….that Merlin was a….

"NO!" screamed Morgana. "You can't have magic! You can't! I will _not_ be defeated by a _serving boy_!"

Merlin smirked and Arthur shuddered. Arthur could almost believe that Merlin wasn't evil, except for the smirk. "But I'm not just a serving boy, Morgana. I'm the warlock Emrys, the most powerful warlock to ever live and your doom. And I seem to remember, you didn't mind me being a serving boy. In fact, you didn't mind it at all."

Shaking, Morgana glared at Merlin, who regarded her with a calm gaze. "What happened, 'Gana?" he asked sadly. "When did it go wrong? When did you stop loving me?"

Morgana gave a shriek of hysterical laughter and Arthur was sure he saw Merlin flinch slightly. "What went wrong? What went wrong? You _poisoned _me! You tried to kill me!"

"I never intended for you to die, Morgana! I had the antidote in my pocket, I just needed Morgause to lift the spell and then I would have given it to you! You were never in any danger!"

Arthur finally made it to his feet and leaned against a tree, exhausted. He looked at the two in front of him, one terrified and angry, the other guilty and pleading.

"You loved me once, when did it stop?" Merlin's eyes were wet with unshed tears.

Morgana too, gave a sob. "It never stopped!" She sank to her knees and hugged her body, shaking. "Everyday I thought of you, and how you hurt me and I hated you, and then I thought of what you promised me and what you said to me and I loved you! I can't do it anymore, Merlin! I need…I need…"

Frowning, Arthur watched Merlin kneel down beside his sister. "What do you need, 'Gana. Tell me." he whispered in her ear.

Morgana looked at him, her bruised face stained with tears. "I need to hear you say it. I need to hear you say that you don't love me. I need to be able to hate you!"

"I'm sorry, 'Gana, but I can't do that. I can't lie to you." Tears were pouring down Merlin's face, and Arthur felt a sharp stab of sympathy for both him and Morgana. They were both destined to be enemies, but somewhere along the line fate had decided to play with their hearts.

Morgana sobbed harder. "Please! Please, Merlin!"

Still crying, Merlin gently raised Morgana's head and kissed her eyelids. "I will never be able to tell you that, because I will never stop loving you. No matter what you do to hurt me, I will always be yours."

Morgana let out a weak cry and slumped into Merlin's arms. "Please," she whispered softly, before passing out.

Lifting Morgana gently in his arms, Merlin turned to look at Arthur. "I'm taking her back to Camelot." He said. "Then I'm coming back to help here. I won't be long." Then he disappeared, leaving Arthur blinking in confusion.

"What on earth is going on?" The King muttered to himself. The most he could figure out was that Merlin and Morgana loved each other. And Merlin was a sorcerer.

Merlin was a _sorcerer_.

_Merlin_ was a sorcerer.

It didn't make sense, thought Arthur, shaking his head. How could _Merlin_ be a sorcerer? Granted, it explained a lot. Like how both Merlin and Arthur always seemed to escape a battle with nothing more than a scratch, and how Merlin always seemed to know what was going on when Camelot was attacked, and how he knew how to stop it.

"This is ridiculous." Arthur muttered, walking back the way he came in search of Gwaine. Other than himself, Gwaine was the closest to Merlin. Perhaps he would know what was going on, although Arthur doubted it. Arthur didn't think anyone would know what was going on any more.

_**A.N. - Kind of short, but it's just a little pick-me-up for the few 'Merlin' readers I have (I say 'few', I may have more but not that many people have reviewed, so I'm going with a few.)**_

_**Kit-Kat, I'm sorry I haven't updated our story, I'll try and do it soon. =(**_


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin stumbled slightly as he appeared in Gwen's rooms. He placed Morgana on the bed and gently brushed her hair from her face. "Why? Why do you do this to us, Morgana?" he whispered.

"Merlin?"

Merlin stood and turned to face Gwen. The former serving girl looked every inch the regal Queen as she looked at Morgana.

"What is she doing here?"

"Gwen, please." Merlin begged. "I won't leave her. Not again."

Smiling sadly, Gwen nodded. "I'll have a maid sent up for when she wakes. And, Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"I'm proud of you. You brought her back."

"I don't know if she'll ever be the Morgana we first knew Gwen. She's seen and done too much to go back to that."

The last Merlin saw was Gwen leaning over Morgana with a cold cloth before he slammed to his knees in the middle of a deserted clearing.

"Arthur!" he called. There was no answer. Merlin growled slightly. "I swear, if it turns out that Arthur's dead, I'm going to bring him back then kill him again! Didn't I tell him to stay here? Didn't I tell him?"

"Actually, you didn't."

Merlin looked up to see Aithusa, now more than ten times the size he had been when he'd hatched. "Not now, Aithusa. I'm trying to find Arthur."

The white dragon gave what couldn't be mistaken for a snort. "And you'll find him much quicker from the air, won't you?"

Merlin sighed. "All right then. Move your wing and let me get on."

…...

Arthur walked through the ranks of wounded soldiers, looking for the drunk mess of a knight that was Gwaine. He paused to offer his condolences to a knight who was sobbing over the corpse of his brother, and the knight's friend pointed him in the direction of Gwaine.

"Gwaine?"

"Ah, Princess! I see you're still alive then?"

Rolling his eyes at the now-familiar nickname, Arthur sat down next to Gwaine and sighed. "Gwaine, if I asked you something, you'd tell me, wouldn't you?"

Gwaine shifted. "Well, depending on what you were asking…nine times out of ten, yes, I would."

Arthur took a breath to steady himself. "What do you know about the relationship between Merlin and Morgana?"

"See, now that would be the one time out of ten where I _wouldn't_ tell you anything."

Arthur's hand shot out and gripped Gwaine's injured arm. The knight paled and sweat beaded on his forehead. "You tell me, Gwaine," Arthur said quietly. "Or so help me, I will strip you of your rank and you'll be less then a peasant. Are we clear?"

Gwaine gave a quick nod. "Crystal, Sire." He sighed in relief as Arthur let go of his arm. "There's not much to tell, really. Merlin said that they realised they had feelings for each other around when you all went to Ealdor, and that things progressed from there. Then Morgana went evil and practically broke Merlin, but the two of them came up with this agreement that once a month, they'd get together and forget everything that had happened. They'd just be Morgana and Merlin. But for the past few months, Merlin kept coming back early, saying Morgana had sent word she wasn't coming. Probably because she was planning all this." Gwaine gestured around the battlefield.

Arthur frowned. "What about poison? Morgana was screaming at Merlin; something about him poisoning her?"

Gwaine nodded. "Merlin told me about that sleeping spell, the one that affected everyone but Morgana. Apparently, she was the thing the spell was anchored to, so Merlin had to kill her to break the spell. He poisoned the water they had and gave it to her. Damn near broke him, I'll tell you."

"How would you know? You weren't there."

Gwaine snorted. "He disappeared for a few days after that, didn't he?" At Arthur's nod Gwaine smiled wryly. "He came to find me. He looked like he hadn't eaten or slept for weeks, and I don't think he'd stopped to rest the horse either. He came to the inn I was staying at and walked into my room and just dropped to the floor, crying that it was all his fault and that he was sorry. I've never felt so sorry for someone than I did at that moment. You know he actually tried to kill himself that night?"

Arthur's jaw dropped. "He didn't?"

Gwaine nodded sadly. "He seemed convinced that Morgause hadn't been able to cure Morgana in time, and that Morgana was dead. He said he was going to join her and apologize."

Leon, who had been listening, whistled. "He always seems so happy."

"Half of it's for show," interjected Percival, who had also joined them. "I can tell because I used to do the same after my family was killed. Merlin does it a lot more often though. And there's intervals in-between each time, like it's always different people that he's mourning, or something."

Arthur let out a sigh. It seemed that he didn't know Merlin as well as he'd have thought, and for some reason, that thought saddened him.

"You know you're closer to him than all of us could ever be, right?" Elyan looked at him. "He'd kill himself if he thought it would help you."

Arthur smiled slightly. "Yet you all know more about him than I could ever hope to."

"You have a bond with him that none of us could ever have. Not in our wildest dreams."

"And you have some pretty wild dreams, don't you, Gwaine?"

All heads snapped towards Merlin, who was standing next to a white dragon.

"Merlin? When did you -?"

"Get here? Around the time Gwaine was spilling stories that I had him under solemn oath never to repeat." Merlin shot the knight a dirty look, and received a shrug in return.

"He had a right to know, Merlin. After all, it's _his_ sister that you've been meeting up with."

"Uh, Merlin?"

Merlin turned to the dragon. "What?"

The dragon, if possible, looked scared. "Kilgharrah found out what you did with Morgana. He's pretty angry."

Arthur raised an eyebrow as Merlin paled and climbed onto the dragon.

Gwaine snorted. "And you laughed at me when I said I was scared of Gwen."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Gwaine, I think a fully-grown dragon is just a _little_ bit scarier than Gwen."

"Oh." said Gwaine. "Where did you put Morgana?"

Merlin looked sad, and Arthur couldn't find it in him to be angry at his friend. Yet.

"I left her with Gwen." Merlin said. "No matter what, Gwen'll do as I ask, in regards to Morgana."

"Did Gwen know?" Arthur blurted out, just before Merlin left. "About you and Morgana, did she know?"

"I don't think so, but she might have figured it out after a while. Arthur, I have to go."

Arthur nodded, and Merlin patted the dragon and flew off. Arthur watched for a while, before turning to Gwaine. "When he gets back, I'm going to kill him."

…...

"How could you be so foolish!"

Merlin looked calmly at Kilgharrah. "What was I supposed to do, leave her to die?"

"Yes!"

Merlin glared at the dragon. "I will not! I love her!"

"She will destroy everything that you have won! She will destroy Arthur, and she will destroy you!"

"I will not harm her!"

The golden dragon reared up as though to strike, but Merlin held his ground. "I am the last Dragonlord, and I tell you this as kin: I will not harm that woman."

"If you will not then I shall!"

"NO!" Merlin let loose a burst of magic that created a gash in Kilgharrah's leg. "You will not touch her! That is an order!"

Turning round stiffly and climbing back onto a trembling Aithusa, Merlin cast one angry glance at Kilgharrah. "I mean it, Kilgharrah. I know how to kill you, and if you even _think_ about harming Morgana, I will."

…...

Arthur stared at Morgana as she slept on his wife's bed. Her face was peaceful, no anger or hate twisting it's features. He sighed.

"What's wrong, Arthur?"

Turning to face his wife, Arthur sighed again. "I don't want her here, Guinevere. Every part of me is screaming for me to throw her off the tallest tower."

Gwen rubbed his shoulders comfortingly and Arthur relaxed slightly. Only slightly. "I know, but Merlin wants me to take care of her until he comes back."

Arthur walked over to the bed and looked down at his sister. She twisted in her sleep and thrashed. "Merlin!" she called. "Merlin, please!"

Stepping back slightly, Arthur looked at Gwen, who shrugged. "She did this earlier, but something happened and she stopped."

The door was flung open and Merlin burst into the room. He ran to the bed and cradled Morgana in his arms. "Shhh," he whispered. "It's alright. They can't hurt you Morgana, I'm here."

Morgana whimpered and huddled into Merlin. "Merlin, he's there!" she whispered.

"He's not, Morgana. He's dead. He can't hurt you anymore."

Morgana cried in fear and moved backwards and closer to Merlin. "He's going to kill me, Merlin! He knows! He's going to…going to…"

Merlin brushed his hand over Morgana's eyes. "Wake up. He's not here."

Arthur saw Morgana look at him in fear. "He's there."

Merlin looked up in confusion. "Where, my love?"

"There." Morgana whimpered, pointing to Arthur. "He's there. I killed him, but he's there."

Merlin frowned at Arthur. "Leave."

"Merlin, I'm not going to -"

"Leave!" Merlin snapped. "You share the same blood as your goddamned father! She can sense it, that's what's scaring her!"

Gwen gasped. "Of course! She was always terrified of Uther after the candle fires!"

Arthur gaped in shock as he was pushed out the door by his wife. "Guinevere, what are you -"

"Arthur, please. I want to get my friend back, and if that means you can't talk to her, then you'll have to stay away." Gwen's brown eyes looked at him imploringly and he sighed. He could deny her nothing.

"Fine." he said shortly. "The minute I see her as a threat, I will kill her."

Gwen smiled sweetly and pushed him out the door, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

Leaning against the door, Arthur tried to make sense of everything. The secrets didn't bother him all that much, but the fact that they'd been secrets from _him_ was what hurt him the most.

"Gwen? Is it really you? As Queen?"

Arthur looked up as he heard Morgana's overjoyed voice. Perhaps, deep down, she still cared and truly had missed them. Arthur couldn't deny that he'd missed her as well. Even before he knew she was his sister, they'd always shared a sibling rivalry and closeness. Then Morgana changed sibling rivalry to hatred.

"Or did she?" he muttered. He thought back to the battle, how she'd seemed to be holding back. How as soon as she saw Merlin, she broke. Arthur shook his head. "I can't deal with this."

Arthur couldn't cope. He couldn't cope with the fact that Morgana dared to come back. He'd grieved after her betrayal as though she was dead; in his eyes, the Morgana he knew and loved _had_ died. And she wanted to waltz back as though it all was forgiven? Arthur shook himself. That's not what she's doing, he thought. Merlin brought her here, she didn't come back of her free will.

"God give me strength." Arthur muttered, pushing himself from the door. He needed to talk to someone he trusted above all others, and with Merlin by Morgana's side, that left only one other.

Gaius.

_**A.N. - Thanks to all the people that reviewed. I know I might not have replied to them all, but they all make me smile! Although, a lot have people have asked me not to leave this as a one-shot. Did I say it was a one-shot? If I did, I'm sorry, I never planned it to be one so I don't know why I said that. =(**_

_**Please review and I hope you liked it!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur walked into the physician's room, feeling comfort wash over him at the familiar smell.

"Gaius?"

"Arthur! How can I help you, Sire?"

Smiling slightly at the man who had been a father to him, Arthur sat on a bench. "I need you to tell me about Merlin."

Gaius' smile dropped.

"You knew, didn't you?" Arthur realised, hurt. "You knew about everything. About the magic, and Morgana, and -"

"Yes, I knew." Gaius interrupted. "I didn't know everything, but I knew. And unfortunately I can't tell you."

"Why?"

Gaius sighed. "Because it's not my story to tell."

There was a faint breeze, a swirl of leaves and petals dancing through the air, and suddenly a woman stood in front of Arthur.

Arthur's hand flew to his sword.

"Peace, Arthur Pendragon. I bring a message from the one you call Merlin."

Relaxing his hand, Arthur looked at Gaius, who nodded.

"What message?"

"There is a clearing not far from Camelot where he meets with the dragon Kilgharrah. I am to open your eyes to the way."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "How?"

In answer, she pointed at him and Arthur's eyes watered at the pain in them. When it subsided, he looked up and glared at her.

"Now you can see the way." she smiled wanly. "Follow your eyes, Arthur Pendragon."

Arthur growled as she disappeared into a breeze that swept past him and out the door, which was glowing a faint blue.

"Follow your eyes…"

"Arthur?"

Arthur looked back from the door the see Gaius looking at him anxiously.

"Don't be too hard on him, on Merlin. He has his reasons."

As Arthur opened the door and noticed the blue trail on the floor, he sighed. "Reasons that I need to know, Gaius. And one way or another, I _will_ find out."

…...

Arthur saw the blue fade from his vision as he walked into a wide clearing. Merlin was stood in the centre, gazing upwards at the sky.

Arthur felt rage fill him. How could Merlin stand there so calmly after everything that had happened? How could he act like he'd done nothing wrong? How could Merlin act like he hadn't betrayed Arthur worse than the king could ever have imagined?

Striding furiously over to the man he thought he knew, Arthur cleared his throat. "Magic. You have magic." he spat out, feeling the words boil in his mouth like poison.

As Merlin lowered his head to look at him, Arthur saw that he wasn't as calm as he had first appeared; he was pale and shaking slightly. "Arthur…" he whispered hoarsely.

Holding up a hand, Arthur turned to face his servant. "You lied to me, Merlin. Every single day, every time you looked me in the face you were lying to me!"

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Merlin yelled. "Walk up to you that day: Hey, I'm Merlin, I've had magic since I was born and I'm destined to help you be the greatest King Camelot has ever known. You'd have killed me there and then!"

"How long have we known each other, Merlin? How many chances have you had to tell me?"

Merlin scoffed. "Every time I tried you gave me yet another lecture on how people like me are evil, soulless murderers that only want to kill every person they meet that doesn't have magic! Is that what I am, Arthur? Is _that_ how you see me?"

Arthur shook his head slightly. He wasn't sure. He _knew_ Merlin, but didn't this prove that people with magic couldn't be trusted?

Merlin sighed and held his hand to the air. The wind whirled and Arthur's eyes widened as a young woman walked into the clearing. Arthur recognized her; he'd seen her around Camelot with Merlin almost every day. She was also the woman who'd brought him Merlin's message.

"You called for me, Emrys?" she said.

Merlin held out a hand and the woman took it. "Arthur, this is Deliphna. She's a sprite, and a friend of mine. You recognize her, don't you?"

Arthur nodded. "She's the woman that you walk with around Camelot."

Deliphna nodded. "I am also the protector of your wife."

A chill settled around Arthur. "Merlin, just how many magic users are in Camelot?"

"At the moment…" Merlin paused for thought. "About 5."

"5? And you didn't think that I needed to know?!"

Deliphna shook her head. "They keep their distance. I protect the Queen, Emrys protects you, there is a druid among the guards that helps patrol the town and there are two servants that help ward the castle."

Arthur's mouth dropped open. He couldn't believe this. He'd been planning to try and persuade Merlin to stop associating with sorcery, but now it was all going wrong.

"Arthur," Merlin said gently. "I know what you're thinking, and I'm sorry. Really, I am. But asking me to give up my magic is like telling you to give up Camelot. It's never going to happen. I can't."

"Why?" Arthur's voice cracked slightly.

Merlin sighed again and turned to Deliphna. "Say the spell. Show him."

Arthur flinched as the woman muttered under her breath. Her eyes glowed with molten gold and suddenly the gold was all around him, settling in the earth and on the trees, even a bright dusting of gold on Deliphna herself.

"Arthur, look at me."

Arthur looked at Merlin and his mouth dropped open. Merlin was covered in gold. Arthur could see it sinking into his skin, the excess saturating the air around him. Merlin _was_ gold.

"Merlin, what -"

"You know what it is, Arthur."

"I can't - I can't say…"

Merlin rolled his eyes. His glowing, _golden_ eyes. "It's magic, Arthur. It's me."

"You?"

Merlin nodded. "I can't give up my magic because I _am_ magic."

Arthur's mouth was dry. He could feel himself trembling. "You are magic."

"And magic is me. And Arthur, you have to believe me when I say that I've only ever used it for good. I've only ever used it for _you_."

Arthur's head was pounding, and spinning, everything was crashing in his head all at once. "But…Morgana…"

Merlin suddenly looked fierce. "I fought Morgana. I love her, and I almost killed her countless times to protect you. Do _not_ try and make this about her. This is about you and me."

"Well, forgive me, Merlin," Arthur bellowed, loosing his temper suddenly. "Because I must be really stupid. How the hell does you protecting me stand alongside a relationship with the woman trying to _kill me_!"

"I don't know! Arthur, god help me, but I don't know! I fell in love with her when she was still…well, _her_ and I can't let go of that. But I couldn't let anything happen to you either."

"Why?" Arthur choked.

Merlin looked at him sadly, the gold fading from him as the spell wore off. The look Merlin gave him now was all him; sad blue eyes, and pale skin with bruises and cuts all from fighting for Arthur. "You're like my brother, Arthur, and I couldn't lose you."

"Even if it meant choosing between me and her?"

Merlin sucked in a breath, anguish in his eyes. "Arthur, no! Please! I don't want to hurt you, and I don't think I ever would, but please don't ask me to choose."

Realising something, Arthur laughed hollowly. "I'd lose, wouldn't I? If you ever had to choose, it would be her."

Merlin hesitated. "I don't know."

Arthur smiled, then laughed in relief. That answer was so…_Merlin_. He didn't know how he could ever have thought that Merlin would have betrayed him on purpose.

"Merlin?"

"Yes, Arthur?"

Arthur pulled him into a tight hug. "Don't ever keep anything like this from me again. I'm begging you."

Merlin smiled against Arthur's shoulder and returned the hug in kind. "There's nothing else to tell you, Arthur."

"Are you sure?"

Merlin smiled his free, easy smile, and it made Arthur's heart glad to see it. "Positive."

_**A.N. - I updated! Yeah, I'm surprised too! I hope you like it, especially the person that wanted me to focus on Arthur's reaction to Merlin's reveal (I can't remember your name, sorry)**_


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